Children's Home run by The Amicus Community (Arundel) Ltd in West Sussex

Inspection report for children's home: 1246834 1 Registered provider: The Amicus Community (Arundel) Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is part of an independent children’s therapeutic community which is accredited by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. It provides care for up to five children who experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, five children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2012.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 14 November 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1246834 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/11/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/03/2022 Full Good 29/01/2020 Full Good 16/10/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1246834 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop secure and trusting relationships with the staff caring for them. Staff were observed by inspectors to be attentive and nurturing in their approach to meeting children’s individual needs. Because of this, children make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are praised for their achievements. These are beautifully captured in monthly progress reports. These are child-focused and showcase the therapeutic ethos of the home, in line with the statement of purpose.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a wide variety of activities and staff are thoughtful in their planning, ensuring favoured activities are available. For example, children enjoy baking, arts and crafts, shopping and visits to the local parks. Children were observed playing football and flying kites and told the inspector that their favourite activity together was a trip to a theme park. Children have fun and are making memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a generally homely feel for children, with space for them to live comfortably with each other. However, some areas of the home still require attention to make it cosier. This has been identified by the manager and plans are in place for all children’s bedrooms to be decorated and the lounge to be rearranged to create separate areas. However, staff do not encourage children to tidy up following activities, therefore, the home was untidy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are sought regularly by staff and are valued. For example, children choose activities and meals through regular link-work sessions and daily meetings. Children’s feelings are explored and staff are responsive to how children may be feeling. For example, one child due to have an injection was seen by the inspector being supported sensitively by staff. This gives children a sense of trust.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good educational progress. All children attend the school linked to the community and there are close links between the home and school, including twice- daily handovers. This ensures that children experience consistent and well-informed care.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff have effective strategies to help keep children safe and these are clearly set out in individual risk assessment and personal handling plans. These are reviewed frequently. Physical interventions are recorded in detail, with clear management oversight. Staff have opportunities to reflect on incidents and develop strategies to reduce these. This helps to strengthen staff understanding and ensures that there is a consistent response to caring for children. Inspection report for children's home: 1246834 4 Safeguarding concerns and allegations are reported to the relevant external agencies and children are supported through this process. The manager has clear oversight of all incidents and reflection is used to inform future practice. One professional said, ‘We have a positive working relationship and the home always report concerns in a timely and thorough way.’

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff implement clear and consistent boundaries which children know and respect, and children say that they feel safe. Safeguards are in place to keep children safe online. Through daily meetings, debriefs and link-work sessions children are involved in telling staff what makes them anxious and what staff can do to help them. This builds children’s trust and self-esteem.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home since the last inspection. Managers and staff are aware of their responsibilities to ensure that effective health and safety processes are in place. Consequently, children, staff and visitors are protected and the home is safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Safe recruitment practices are understood and implemented by staff responsible for this. All necessary checks are in place to ensure that children are protected from unsuitable people working in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is not in charge of the day-to-day management of the home, after taking on a more strategic role within the community. The home is managed by an experienced manager who is aware of her responsibility to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management arrangements in place provide a supportive, collaborative and caring culture in the home for everyone. There is a real sense of teamwork and strong working relationships among staff, who acknowledge difficulties and support each other. This provides a stable team for the children. One member of staff said, ‘Managers have been so supportive and taught me lots, and I look forward to learning more.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers understand the strengths and weaknesses of the home and there is a detailed development plan that identifies areas for improvement. Managers demonstrate a passionate commitment to ensuring high standards of care for children. Staff feel well supported in their roles and new staff complete a thorough induction. Staff say that supervision enables them to reflect on their practice and identify their professional development needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are effective discussions in team meetings regarding the vulnerabilities and identified risks for each child. These are understood by the staff, who are kept informed of changes through daily handovers. Through the enabling approach of the management team, staff are supported to share any worries. As a result, staff feel confident to raise concerns regarding staff practice. This contributes to the healthy culture in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 1246834 5 Children are cared for by skilled staff. Leaders and managers have identified areas where staff require additional support to further their knowledge and skills. For example, workshops have been run on link-work sessions, recording of incidents, and daily logbook recording. However, not all staff have completed the appropriate level 3 qualification within regulatory timescales, and not all hold a relevant first-aid certificate. This is essential for ensuring that staff have the appropriate knowledge

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

for working in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 1246834 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that the manager in day-to-day charge of the home registers with Ofsted. 11 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who-

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(c)(i)) 11 August 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 1246834 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. This is in relation to the level 3 qualification and first-aid training. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) Inspection report for children's home: 1246834 8

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children's home: 1246834 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Amicus Community (Arundel) Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Coach House, Arundel Road, Fontwell, Arundel BN18 0SX

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Inspectors

Hannah Cox, Social Care Inspector Tony Waite, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1246834 10 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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